Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has a big decision to make after the season. Before then, he has at least one more game remaining in the 2025 season, and his immediate energy and focus will be totally directed toward that.
The Sooners' next game will be in the opening round of the College Football Playoff against No. 9 Alabama on Friday, Dec. 19.
John Mateer has NFL Draft decision ahead
Mateer is completing his first season at Oklahoma after transferring from Washington State, where he spent three seasons. The redshirt junior from Little Elm, Texas, in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, is eligible for the NFL Draft.
What at the beginning of the 2025 season, however, seemed like a fairly sure bet, may not be as clear cut as it once was.
Considered the top quarterback in last season's Transfer Portal, Mateer was viewed prior to the 2025 season as one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. He led the Sooners to wins in their first four games, averaging just over 300 passing yards, 47.5 rushing yards and a combined nine touchdowns (five passing and four on the ground).
Mateer, however, suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand in Week 4 of the season in a game against Auburn. Although he missed just one game after surgery, his production and passing accuracy hasn't been quite the same since before the injury. In the seven games since returning from the thumb surgery, Mateer has thrown for 200 or more passing yards just twice, and he has thrown just four touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions. His rushing yards are also down by almost 15 yards per game from what they were at the beginning of the season.
There's no question the Oklahoma offense hasn't been as crisp or consistent since the Mateer thumb injury. He has struggled much of the time to find open receivers and puts the ball in harms way more than he should trying to make a big play.
Despite that, it's largely because of Mateer's leadership and his competitiveness that the Sooners have found enough ways on offense, along with an elite defense, to win 10 games and earn their way into the College Football Playoff.
With games still to play, Mateer appropriately has been holding his cards close to his chest about what his future plans will be. He will, of course, discuss his options with his family and others he trusts and, like many draft eligible prospects, obtain a draft evaluation and grade to help with the decision process. From that, he will have to decide whether an extra year in college could help improve his game and his NFL draft stock or whether the time is right to declare for the draft.
Mateer is not the only player that will be impacted by whatever he decides. Bowe Bentley, a highly touted quarterback in Oklahoma's 2026 early signing class, comes in as a true freshman next season. Sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr., who redshirted this season, is No. 2 on the depth chart and may consider the Transfer Portal depending on what Mateer decides.
It appears from OU's 2026 recruiting class that an already strong defensive unit is going to be nicely reinforced with talented incoming freshmen, along with an equally impressive group of wide receivers. The Oklahoma offense could clearly benefit from another season with a fully healthy John Mateer as field general, but we're going to have to wait to see how all of that ultimately plays out.